bleachings, ocean temperatures were 2 to 3
degrees Celsius (3.6 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit)
above average.
The authority had received 250 reports of
sightings of bleached coral due to elevated ocean
temperatures during an unusually hot February.
The 345,400-square kilometer (133,360-square
mile) World Heritage-listed colorful coral
network has been devastated by four coral
bleaching events since 1998. The most deadly
were the most recent, in those consecutive
summers of 2016 and 2017.